From the desk of Jim Snyder
The RPI index
The NCAA maintains the only official RPI Index and they generally do not share it with the general public. Many have developed formulas over the years that have tried to approximate the one used by the NCAA. Over the years we have preferred the Pomeroy Ratings. We have provided a link under Quick Links. We will try to periodically feature it on the Center Court at the Pete message board but please feel free to check it out for yourself if we get distracted.
Early in the year these ratings bounce around like crazy and as a result do not mean much. Schools in the BCS Conferences tend to move up once we are into conference play because of the strength of schedule factor. Pitt was ranked No. 7 the last we looked. In many ways Pitt is playing this year with two goals in mind. One is to get a first-round bye in the Big East tournament. The second is to try and get a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. Their RPI ranking will be a big factor when they start seeding teams come March.
Basketball schedule
There is a module on the Home Page with the basketball schedules. It is showing Central times. We have sent dozens of e-mails to Rivals.com on the subject. There is a software problem between the Ticker service and Rivals. They have been working on the problem since August. Five months later it is still a problem. I am not hopeful that it will corrected before the end of the basketball season.
Please use our interactive basketball schedule. You can find it in the gold border under [/B]Basketball.[/B] It has a lot more information and the times are correct. It allows you to drill down to see the records of teams Pitt is playing or has already played.
Redshirts
This past football season we saw Wake Forest rise from the ashes to gain a BCS berth in the Orange Bowl. They built the program by redshirting most of their players. The Pitt basketball program was built by being able to use seniors and sometimes redshirt seniors. This year the Pitt basketball team starts three seniors and one of those is a redshirt senior (Levon Kendall). In addition junior Mike Cook transferred so he is really a fourth-year player. Four of the five Pitt starters have been out of high school at least four years. If you can’t recruit five-star players you must grow them internally. We will know the Pitt football program is starting to turn the corner when they are finally able to make generous use of the redshirt rule. This is particularly true for linemen. It really is not fair to ask an 18 year old to bang heads every week with older players and more experienced players. A few like Bill Fralic can do it but most can’t.
Awards from the Pitt football dinner
In case you missed it freshman quarterback Kevan Smith and defensive end Greg Romeus were give awards for their work on the scout team this year. Neither player was highly recruited and neither had many stars coming out of high school but both have stood out among the redshirts. Smith could make the quarterback battle interesting during spring drills and next fall.
It is the bowl season
Unfortunately for the second year in a row Pitt is not in the bowl picture. It has many Pitt fans a little grumpy including myself. The Big East teams are a favorite in all five bowls they are playing in this year.
The Big East bowl lineup needs to be improved but it will take time. A good start would be for Big East teams to pile up wins while taking large crowds with them.
We have reported before the Big East would like to get another tie-in with a bowl in Florida in the next cycle (hopefully in Orlando or Tampa). Demonstrating that their fan bases will travel is a part of the equation.
The coaching changes
As you are aware Mike Kent and Curtis Bray are no longer on the Pitt coaching staff.
We have heard that Buddy Morris is at or near the top of the list to replace Mike Kent. Back in 2002 Walt Harris wanted Dave Kennedy as his strength and conditioning coach. Coach Harris had worked with Dave Kennedy at Ohio State. Coach Jim Tressel, who was relatively new at Ohio State, was in the process of giving Kennedy the boot for spending too much time with former Buckeyes, who were in the NFL. Kennedy was also a good friend of Steve Pederson who was then the AD at Pitt. Harris manufactured a riff with Morris by saying he was taking over conditioning at Pitt so he could get Kennedy. Dave Kennedy later followed Steve Pederson to Nebraska. I am not trying to knock Kennedy. I am simply saying Harris manufactured a riff to force Buddy out at Pitt. Recently Morris has been working at the University of Buffalo. He appears to be well liked by former Pitt players who have worked with him.
You might want to wait to see what the staff looks like in 90 days from now before going too far overboard. Coach Wannstedt has said that Charlie Taaffe will not return so that is another slot that should be open. I suspect one could be filled by one of the graduate assistants. Both Brian Angellico and Jeff Hafely are hard workers and are highly thought of. Let’s see how the rest plays out.
Congratulations!
Congratulations to H.B. Blades on being named Defensive Player of the Year in the Big East Conference. You may have wished that he was an inch taller or a step quicker but there are few with a bigger heart. Blades brought it every week. His 433 career tackles rank him 3rd in Pitt history. On many an occasion you ran into stories where Blades was helping Pitt recruit football players. It’s too bad the team could not have enjoyed more success in his senior season. He deserved it.
The No. 2 ranked basketball team
The men’s basketball team is undefeated at 9-0 and ranked No. 2 in the country. Their play has been up and down so far but we may look back and find that UMass (7-2), Florida State (6-2) and Auburn (6-3) were pretty good wins. They are simply better than the teams they have played so far. We should have a much better read on just how good they are after the next four games. They first must travel to Buffalo (6-3)on Saturday. They then travel to No. 11 Wisconsin (8-1). This is followed by a game with a game with No. 22 Oklahoma State (10-0) which will be played in Oklahoma City. If they survive this road trip they have a home date with the Dayton Flyers (7-1). We know the Panthers are very good but by the time we get to Christmas we should have a better handle on just how much to expect from this talented team.
Another big recruiting weekend
Last weekend Pitt coaching staff had nine football prospects in for official visits. They are scheduled to have ten (10) players in this weekend. Here is a list of players that will make official visits to Pitt this weekend.
Tyson Butler (athlete) Fort Meyers, Florida
Greg Gaskins (center) York, Pa. (committed)
Shariff Harris (running back) Bayonne, NJ
Josh Hartigan (linebacker) Oakland Park, Florida
Brandon Lindsey (linebacker) Aliquippa
Dan Matha (offensive tackle) Erie, Pa. (committed)
Rontez Miles (safety)
Tristan Roberts (linebacker) Persakie, Pa.
Jared Williams (cornerback) Pittsburgh Perry
Mo Williams (athlete) Erie, Pa.
Woodland Hills Rontez Miles still has work to do academically. He may need to go to a prep school or junior college. Miles is a big time hitter from his safety position. Pitt may be positioning themselves for down the road. Running back Xavier Stinson is also a player but may also have to a detour before he gets to Pitt.
Hopefully you caught our article yesterday with Tony Tucker. He is very high on Pitt and so is his mother. His parents are scheduled to visit Pitt on Saturday. It appears they need to lead his father through the academic side of the equation. I am not sure I ever recall parents making a visit without the player. Keep your fingers crossed. It would be a nice pick up for the Panthers to land this four-star defensive end. He was a delight to interview.
Several weeks ago Coach Wannstedt made a statement about a few juniors committing. There are some close the scene who thought he might have been referring to Johnstown’s Antwuan Reed, Averin Collier out of the Rochester, NY area, Lucas Nix from Thomas Jefferson or TE Nic DiLillo from Madison, Ohio. Reed has since given Pitt a verbal commitment. This week we had a story on the Ticker on Nic DiLillo. He has been to Pitt for three games and so far Pitt is the only one to offer early. He talks about maybe making a March Decision. He might be someone we should keep an eye on.
Maybe Pitt gets a break with Rochester’s Derek Moye now that Coach Tom O’Brien is leaving Boston College to go to NC State. West Virginia had also made inquiries but Rich Rodriguez may be on his way to Alabama.
Some felt that Aliquippa linebacker Brandon Lindsey would end up at Pitt or West Virginia. If Rich Rod leaves for Alabama it might open the door for Pitt.
In an ideal world you would like to land running back Bo Williams or LeSean McCoy. One of our sources feels it is 50/50 between Pitt and Penn State with McCoy.
We will have articles today on [/B]John Fieger and Gateway’s [/B]Cameron Sadler. Pitt has offered both Sadler and Shayne Hale. Unfortunately Pitt may have some work to do now that former Gator Curtis Bray is no longer recruiting them.
The War Room is targeted towards our premium customers. We ask that all information reported in the War Room MUST stay right here! That’s the way this deal works. When this information is repeated outside of the Between Fifth and Forbes forum it only cheapens the price of yours and every other die-hard who have purchased premium services. The War Room is one of our more popular features...thank you all for keeping the information on this board.
The RPI index
The NCAA maintains the only official RPI Index and they generally do not share it with the general public. Many have developed formulas over the years that have tried to approximate the one used by the NCAA. Over the years we have preferred the Pomeroy Ratings. We have provided a link under Quick Links. We will try to periodically feature it on the Center Court at the Pete message board but please feel free to check it out for yourself if we get distracted.
Early in the year these ratings bounce around like crazy and as a result do not mean much. Schools in the BCS Conferences tend to move up once we are into conference play because of the strength of schedule factor. Pitt was ranked No. 7 the last we looked. In many ways Pitt is playing this year with two goals in mind. One is to get a first-round bye in the Big East tournament. The second is to try and get a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. Their RPI ranking will be a big factor when they start seeding teams come March.
Basketball schedule
There is a module on the Home Page with the basketball schedules. It is showing Central times. We have sent dozens of e-mails to Rivals.com on the subject. There is a software problem between the Ticker service and Rivals. They have been working on the problem since August. Five months later it is still a problem. I am not hopeful that it will corrected before the end of the basketball season.
Please use our interactive basketball schedule. You can find it in the gold border under [/B]Basketball.[/B] It has a lot more information and the times are correct. It allows you to drill down to see the records of teams Pitt is playing or has already played.
Redshirts
This past football season we saw Wake Forest rise from the ashes to gain a BCS berth in the Orange Bowl. They built the program by redshirting most of their players. The Pitt basketball program was built by being able to use seniors and sometimes redshirt seniors. This year the Pitt basketball team starts three seniors and one of those is a redshirt senior (Levon Kendall). In addition junior Mike Cook transferred so he is really a fourth-year player. Four of the five Pitt starters have been out of high school at least four years. If you can’t recruit five-star players you must grow them internally. We will know the Pitt football program is starting to turn the corner when they are finally able to make generous use of the redshirt rule. This is particularly true for linemen. It really is not fair to ask an 18 year old to bang heads every week with older players and more experienced players. A few like Bill Fralic can do it but most can’t.
Awards from the Pitt football dinner
In case you missed it freshman quarterback Kevan Smith and defensive end Greg Romeus were give awards for their work on the scout team this year. Neither player was highly recruited and neither had many stars coming out of high school but both have stood out among the redshirts. Smith could make the quarterback battle interesting during spring drills and next fall.
It is the bowl season
Unfortunately for the second year in a row Pitt is not in the bowl picture. It has many Pitt fans a little grumpy including myself. The Big East teams are a favorite in all five bowls they are playing in this year.
The Big East bowl lineup needs to be improved but it will take time. A good start would be for Big East teams to pile up wins while taking large crowds with them.
We have reported before the Big East would like to get another tie-in with a bowl in Florida in the next cycle (hopefully in Orlando or Tampa). Demonstrating that their fan bases will travel is a part of the equation.
The coaching changes
As you are aware Mike Kent and Curtis Bray are no longer on the Pitt coaching staff.
We have heard that Buddy Morris is at or near the top of the list to replace Mike Kent. Back in 2002 Walt Harris wanted Dave Kennedy as his strength and conditioning coach. Coach Harris had worked with Dave Kennedy at Ohio State. Coach Jim Tressel, who was relatively new at Ohio State, was in the process of giving Kennedy the boot for spending too much time with former Buckeyes, who were in the NFL. Kennedy was also a good friend of Steve Pederson who was then the AD at Pitt. Harris manufactured a riff with Morris by saying he was taking over conditioning at Pitt so he could get Kennedy. Dave Kennedy later followed Steve Pederson to Nebraska. I am not trying to knock Kennedy. I am simply saying Harris manufactured a riff to force Buddy out at Pitt. Recently Morris has been working at the University of Buffalo. He appears to be well liked by former Pitt players who have worked with him.
You might want to wait to see what the staff looks like in 90 days from now before going too far overboard. Coach Wannstedt has said that Charlie Taaffe will not return so that is another slot that should be open. I suspect one could be filled by one of the graduate assistants. Both Brian Angellico and Jeff Hafely are hard workers and are highly thought of. Let’s see how the rest plays out.
Congratulations!
Congratulations to H.B. Blades on being named Defensive Player of the Year in the Big East Conference. You may have wished that he was an inch taller or a step quicker but there are few with a bigger heart. Blades brought it every week. His 433 career tackles rank him 3rd in Pitt history. On many an occasion you ran into stories where Blades was helping Pitt recruit football players. It’s too bad the team could not have enjoyed more success in his senior season. He deserved it.
The No. 2 ranked basketball team
The men’s basketball team is undefeated at 9-0 and ranked No. 2 in the country. Their play has been up and down so far but we may look back and find that UMass (7-2), Florida State (6-2) and Auburn (6-3) were pretty good wins. They are simply better than the teams they have played so far. We should have a much better read on just how good they are after the next four games. They first must travel to Buffalo (6-3)on Saturday. They then travel to No. 11 Wisconsin (8-1). This is followed by a game with a game with No. 22 Oklahoma State (10-0) which will be played in Oklahoma City. If they survive this road trip they have a home date with the Dayton Flyers (7-1). We know the Panthers are very good but by the time we get to Christmas we should have a better handle on just how much to expect from this talented team.
Another big recruiting weekend
Last weekend Pitt coaching staff had nine football prospects in for official visits. They are scheduled to have ten (10) players in this weekend. Here is a list of players that will make official visits to Pitt this weekend.
Tyson Butler (athlete) Fort Meyers, Florida
Greg Gaskins (center) York, Pa. (committed)
Shariff Harris (running back) Bayonne, NJ
Josh Hartigan (linebacker) Oakland Park, Florida
Brandon Lindsey (linebacker) Aliquippa
Dan Matha (offensive tackle) Erie, Pa. (committed)
Rontez Miles (safety)
Tristan Roberts (linebacker) Persakie, Pa.
Jared Williams (cornerback) Pittsburgh Perry
Mo Williams (athlete) Erie, Pa.
Woodland Hills Rontez Miles still has work to do academically. He may need to go to a prep school or junior college. Miles is a big time hitter from his safety position. Pitt may be positioning themselves for down the road. Running back Xavier Stinson is also a player but may also have to a detour before he gets to Pitt.
Hopefully you caught our article yesterday with Tony Tucker. He is very high on Pitt and so is his mother. His parents are scheduled to visit Pitt on Saturday. It appears they need to lead his father through the academic side of the equation. I am not sure I ever recall parents making a visit without the player. Keep your fingers crossed. It would be a nice pick up for the Panthers to land this four-star defensive end. He was a delight to interview.
Several weeks ago Coach Wannstedt made a statement about a few juniors committing. There are some close the scene who thought he might have been referring to Johnstown’s Antwuan Reed, Averin Collier out of the Rochester, NY area, Lucas Nix from Thomas Jefferson or TE Nic DiLillo from Madison, Ohio. Reed has since given Pitt a verbal commitment. This week we had a story on the Ticker on Nic DiLillo. He has been to Pitt for three games and so far Pitt is the only one to offer early. He talks about maybe making a March Decision. He might be someone we should keep an eye on.
Maybe Pitt gets a break with Rochester’s Derek Moye now that Coach Tom O’Brien is leaving Boston College to go to NC State. West Virginia had also made inquiries but Rich Rodriguez may be on his way to Alabama.
Some felt that Aliquippa linebacker Brandon Lindsey would end up at Pitt or West Virginia. If Rich Rod leaves for Alabama it might open the door for Pitt.
In an ideal world you would like to land running back Bo Williams or LeSean McCoy. One of our sources feels it is 50/50 between Pitt and Penn State with McCoy.
We will have articles today on [/B]John Fieger and Gateway’s [/B]Cameron Sadler. Pitt has offered both Sadler and Shayne Hale. Unfortunately Pitt may have some work to do now that former Gator Curtis Bray is no longer recruiting them.
The War Room is targeted towards our premium customers. We ask that all information reported in the War Room MUST stay right here! That’s the way this deal works. When this information is repeated outside of the Between Fifth and Forbes forum it only cheapens the price of yours and every other die-hard who have purchased premium services. The War Room is one of our more popular features...thank you all for keeping the information on this board.
